1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a shower bathing apparatus, and more particularly to a shower bathing apparatus enabling a user to take a shower bath in a sitting posture.
2. Description of the Related Art
A shower bathing apparatus enabling a user to take a shower bath in a sitting posture is disclosed, for example, in International Publication WO 97/30619 (hereinafter referred to as “Patent Document 1”). According to this Patent Document 1, an arm extending forward from behind the user in a sitting posture over the user's shoulder has a spray nozzle, which sprays mist toward the user.
Recently, with the growing diversity of lifestyle, bathing style has been also diversified. In a conventional way of bathing, the body is washed with a shower and warmed in a bathtub. However, even for a shower, there are demands for a sense of bathing like soaking in a bathtub and a function of sufficiently warming the body.
The shower bathing apparatus is expected to also serve for warming the body in addition to simply washing the body, particularly for elderly and physically challenged users who are difficult to move into and out of a bathtub. However, in a sitting position on a seat, the water flow discharged from above the seat is obstructed by the seat and is difficult to reach the legback. Thus it is difficult to provide a high hyperthermic effect on the entire body.